Willie Varela’s videos emphasize the act of looking over storytelling, placing an emphasis on the relationship of the camera to his body, home environment, or nature. Varela stresses rhythm and repetition over linear development and direct associations, producing a cinema that functions as a crossroads—much as his native El Paso does—where personal, domestic, local, and national discourses meet.

Disc 1

Eye/Light

A Neon Crescent, 1976, Super 8, silent, 3:21

Becky’s Eye, 1977, Super 8, silent, 3:31

Bent Light, 1976, Super 8, silent, 3:17

The Last Look, 1981, Super 8, silent, 1:53

Ambien Series VII Duo, 2002, video, sound, 9:27

These short videos, largely inspired by Stan Brakhage’s experiments in sculpting light, focus on a single element to render beauty.

Visual Politics

Fearless Leader, 1985, Super 8, sound, 3:38

In Progress, 1985, video, sound, 12:30

His Hidden Presence, 1998, video, sound, 10:10

This Burning World, 2002, video, sound, 31:57

Short Video Pieces2004, 2004, video, sound, 46:42

Recognizing that all human relations are political, in these works Varela explores the ways that artists function in a material world.

Ambient Spaces

Recuerdos de flores muertas, 1982, Super 8, sound, 6:58

Ghost Town, 1974, Super 8, silent, 2:43

I Raise My Arm, I Am Responsible, 2004, video, sound, 16:37

Ambien Series VIII Houston, 2002, video, sound, 15:15

These videos, inspired by the sound art of Brian Eno, are intended put viewers in a unique state of awareness of their surroundings.

Disc 2

Recuerdos

Moondance, 1976, Super 8, silent, 9:41

James Broughton, 1985, Super 8, sound, 6:07

Stan & Jane Brakhage, 1981, Super 8, silent, 3:14

March 1979, 1979, Super 8, silent, 3:27

The Birthday Party, 2004, video, sound, 10:21

The Extraordinary Day, 2003, video, sound, 16:21

White Sands, 2004, video, sound, 12:00

Representative of Varela’s early practice, these works elevate the aesthetic value of otherwise dismissed environments.

Making Is Choosing: A Fragmented Life: A Broken Line: A Series of Observations, 1989, Super 8, sound, 1:43:15

This work chronicles Varela’s life from 1985 to 1989, a period of doubt, anger, and intense self-examination.